


A sort of Cinderella Story

by Flipididers63



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: A Cinderella Story Reference, F/M, Slice of Life, YA, Yas, a little bit of Evan Hansen, and annoying, but please still read, curse Lila, give up Chloe, high school musical reference, i promise it will be good, lots of duets, lots of love, no miraculous involved, no one likes you, your mean
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-03-06
Packaged: 2019-10-20 14:52:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17624474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flipididers63/pseuds/Flipididers63
Summary: Marinette and Adrien are in college, and are both single. Adrien is a well known model and a football player. Marinette is a cheerleader, but couldn't be more invisible. It's probably because of Lila and Chloe. The two go to a party, and are chosen to sing a duet of the song 'Close To Me' (I made it clean, no need to worry). They both fall in love, but Marinette wore a mask. She just about removes it, when she is whisked away by Alya, who says it's urgent. Adrien noticed her necklace snagged on the door knob before she left. Will Adrien ever find out who Marinette is?





	1. The Party

Marinette was a straight A college student that went to Princeton. She used to live in Paris, but she decided to move to the states for more schooling. She went from her previous hairstyle to straight long hair, buns, braids, anything. Except pigtails. She had a dorm room on campus and she shared it with her childhood friend, Alya.  
“Girl, you need to take a break.” Alya scolded. She was dressed up in a light orange knee length dress with a long thick piece of cloth tailing behind. The ends of the cloth were white, and she wore a fox eared headband, compliments of Marinette, so she looked like a fox. She also wore a mask, the top half orange, the bottom half white.  
Marinette looked up from her school work. “I already told you Alya, I can’t go to the party, I have to study for Mr. Consuela's test next week. Besides, the dress I made is just a prototype.”  
Alya looked over at the dress. It was an inch above the knee, and it was red with black polka dots. The bottom had sparkles on it, which ombred up to the waist. It had no sleeves, but instead had chiffon that cut off at her arms and rounded her neck with silver gems. She would wear a sterling silver chain with an opal shaped into a sphere, and another smaller necklace with a diamond heart that her parents had given to her to help her remember them. The mask was red with black sparkles in the shape of spots. To complete the look, she had a pair of open toed black wedge boots. It was a work of art, and she saw nothing wrong with it.  
“You’ve already studied for the test a million times! Come on! Me and Nino are going together, it’s time you do something fun too.” Alya walked closer to her. “Who knows, you may even find a special someone there.”  
Marinette gently pushed Alya away, grinning. “Oh stop it! No one is going to want a nerd who makes clothing.”  
Alya groaned, then thought for a minute. “How about this. You go to the party, i’ll help you study afterwards.”  
Marinette paused, then turned around. “Eh…”  
Alya frowned defeated. “Fine, I’ll also take you to Olive Garden.”  
Marinette stood up and put out her hand. “It’s a deal.”  
Alya squealed, and jumped on Marinette. “Ok ok. Be ready in 5. I’ll be in the car.”  
“Ok. I’ll be ready.” she said as Alya walked out.  
She got into her outfit, and did her makeup. For makeup, she put on red lipstick, red eye shadow with glitter, mascara, winged eyeliner, and white highlighter. She put the top half of her hair in a big bun, then curled the rest of it.  
She walked outside, and Alya screamed. “Girl! You look stunning!”  
Marinette chuckled. “Heh, thanks. Hey Nino!”  
Nino was sitting in the front, and waved. “Sup Marinette.”  
Alya pulled on Marinette’s arm. “Alright. Let’s go.”

. . .

They Party was being held at Lila’s house, one of the cheerleaders. Marinette didn’t particularly like Lila, but they were on the same team, because she too was a cheer leader, so she didn’t have a choice. Although she did know that Lila was talking about her behind her back, so she made an effort to stay hidden.  
She was always trying to embarrass Marinette, trying to get her to quick cheer leading, but she knew that she couldn’t let her win this war.  
They walked into the house, which was huge by the way, and while Alya and Nino started dancing, Marinette tried to stay hidden. Which was kind of hard, since her dress reflected all light, and caught everybody’s attention.  
Little did Marinette know, but in the group of football players, one of them, Adrien Agreste - part time model, football captain, Straight A student at Princeton - was observing her from the other side of the room. He had never seen her before, and it was hard to tell who she was since she was wearing a mask. He watched as she sat at the back of the room, her dress sparkling.  
He, too, wore a costume. It was simple, but still looked good. It was a regular church suit without the jacket, but the belt around his waist was longer so it almost hit the floor. He wore a white long sleeve shirt with a bright green bow tie, and black gloves. His hair was messy, but not too messy.he had just woken up before the party and threw on his costume, not worrying about his hair. He wore no mask, and had a cat eared headband on top of his head.  
“Dude, A-dog, who you looking at?” said Kim, one of the football players. He put an arm around him.  
“Hmm? Oh, no one.” Adrien replied, not bothering to look away.  
Kim followed his gaze, then laughed. “Yo, who's that chick over there?”  
“Adrien pushed him away. “No one dude. I don’t know her.”  
“Ya, but you were totally checking her out, weren’t you.”  
He rolled his eyes. “No, I wasn’t!”  
“You totally were! Dude, when Chloe finds out-”  
“I don’t care if Chloe finds out. Besides, we broke up last month.”  
Kim chuckled. “You mean you dumped her and she never let it go.”  
Adrien rolled his eyes. “What ever.”  
Marinette sat in a chair, reading a magazine she had brought with her. She didn’t know many people, so she saw no reason to socialize. Alya had come over many times to try to get her to dance, but she had gently brushed her off. Besides, too many people were talking about her and she had only been there for five minutes. The more looks she got her way, the more interesting her magazine became.  
Alya came back over, another attempt sure to fail. “Girl, you’ve been sitting here for 10 minutes. It’s time to get up and have fun!”  
Marinette ignored her request. “Hmm, 50% dog food next week at target, did you know that?”  
“Seriously Marinette, not this again.”  
“Wow, there’s a sale for shoes at JC Penny’s tomorrow. Interesting.”  
“Marinette come on!”  
“No, I don’t want to be here, and despite being on the cheer leading team, I couldn’t be more invisible.” she argued.  
“Marinette Dupain-Cheng! You get up and dance right now! You did not make that gorgeous dress for no reason, and you certainly didn’t go to this party to do what you would have done anyways at home!”  
At that moment, Lila went up onto the stage with a microphone. “Alright everybody, how you guys doin!”  
A loud cheer went up throughout the crowd.  
“Good! Now, we have a special treat! It's time to sing!”  
Everybody cheered, and people started moving towards the stage.  
“But hold your horses! There’s a twist!" her eyes sparkled mischievously. " Were going to let our lighting crew decide who’s going to sing their lungs out for us!”  
Everyone turned towards the lights, jumping up and down to be chosen.  
Marinette rolled her eyes and continued to read. But, it was kind of hard to read with the glare of a bright light shining on her. She looked up and squinted her eyes. When she realized what was happening, her eyes widened.  
“Oh no. oh no. I can’t sing! I haven’t sung in years!” she protested, but people were already pushing her forward. She looked in the crowd and noticed another light shined on another person. It was the football player, Adrien. She had had a crush on him her freshman year of college, but that died down in the summer. They were both shoved onto the stage and given microphones.  
“Good luck you two!” Lila said. She walked past Marinette, making sure to bump into her.  
She started to fall, but Adrien caught her. “You ok there, miss?” he asked  
Oh no. she thought. I’m falling for him again. How could she not. His soft emerald eyes shown with worry and love. He was like a big warm blanket that kept you safe from danger.  
“Y-ya. Ya, I'm fine.” she stood up right, trying hard not to blush.  
“Ok.” he said.  
She looked at the big screen. They were singing the song ‘Close to me’ by Ellie Goulding, Diplo, and Swae Lee.  
Oh thank goodness they have the lyrics, she thought. She had heard the song several times on the radio, but she didn’t fully know the lyrics.  
She shakily turned on the mic as she got the signal from the DJ. The song started, and she put the mic up to her mouth.  
“Even though we both know we're liars and we start each other's fires we just know that we'll be alright.” she began, singing her heart out.  
Adrien watched in awe as she sang. Her voice was the most beautiful voice he had ever heard. He wanted to know who she was so badly, but he couldn’t ask. He just watched and stared.  
“And I don't wanna be somebody without your body close to me.” she started swaying to the music, moving her feet a little bit, every second getting easier to dance to.  
Adrien got ready for his part, ready to try to upstage her, and when the time came, he started to sing.  
“You can never come too close for comfort I had to cut my girl off, she bein' stubborn. I make it known I dance with you, not undercover and when I start up, I'm burnin' rubber.” he began to walk towards her, dancing and acting with the music, trying to make her blush, but she only smirked and played along. “Don't say ‘Sorry’, everyone's watching' when you're where I am, everything's timeless.”  
And then, the magic happened. They started singing together. She sang soprano, he sang baritone/tenor. It was perfectly harmonized. “And I don't wanna be somebody without your body close to me, and if it wasn't you” they danced and sang, following each other's movements, in perfect sync with each other.  
“I wouldn't want anybody close to me, cause I'm an animal, animal-al like animal, like you, and I don't wanna be somebody without your body close to me” Adrien grabbed her hand, twirled around, and then went in for the dip. The two stared into the other’s eyes, sharing some kind of bond, having a special moment. Their eyes were full of love, passion, and wanting. there noses were so close, and inch from brushing up against each other. But not now, they barely knew each other. The music paused, then continued when Marinette brought the mic back up to her mouth. “Close to me.”  
The crowd went wild. Everybody was screaming, yelling encore. Adrien stood Marinette up, his hand still firmly on the small of her back, her hands still around his neck. The crowd went still, holding their breath, waiting for what would happen next, but the two were just as surprised as the rest. Finally, someone screamed, “Oh kiss already!”  
Everyone went wild, agreeing with the cry. Marinette blushes and lowered her arms to his waist, but Adrien made no movement to move his arms.  
“Come with me.” He whispers, pulling her away.  
She followed him, catching a glance of the furious Lila who was standing next to the lighting crew, scolding them for their bad choice in judgment. It was obvious she wanted to be with Adrien, but she wasn’t good enough for him. No one was.  
They walked through the crowd, people clapping their hands, patting them on the back. At one point they passed Alya, who was giving her a big thumbs. They walked into the hallway, up the stairs, down another hallway, took a left, a right, another left, went straight, (this is a big house) and finally went into one of the rooms and closed the door. The room was one of the smaller rooms, which wasn’t saying much. It was about the size of a hotel suite.  
“Sorry about that…” he began.  
She tilted her head. “Sorry about what?”  
He blushed. “For, you know, dipping you down, giving you too much attention.”  
She blushed. “Oh it’s fine! I mean I can handle it, but really there's nothing to worry about.”  
He sat down on the bed, patting the spot next to him. “So, your a really good singer…”  
She sat down. “Ya, didn’t know I had it in me. I haven’t sung since I was five.”  
“Wow. that’s amazing.”  
“Ya…” she said.  
“Ya know…” he said. “I’d really like to know who I was singing with. Because someone as talented, nice, and beautiful as you must be the most amazing person in the world.”  
She lowered her head, staring at her feet.  
Adrien lifted her head to his level, his face full of concern. “Hey, what’s wrong?”  
She shrugged. “Nothing.” then she sat up straight. “You know, I had a crush on you when I was a freshman in college, but now, when I was singing with you…” she grasped the air, searching for words. “I… I don't know how to describe it. Your a football player, a model, a straight A student. Such a silly thing to like you, knowing that I would just disappoint you if I took off the mask.”  


Adrien stood up, spreading his arms throughout the air. “Seriously, you can sing, your beautiful, and plus someone told me that you made your whole costume yourself! What’s not to like! I haven’t felt a greater connection with a person before tonight. I need a friend. No. More than a friend.” he held out his hand, smiling. “Will you please take your mask off the mask?”  
She breathed out, gears clicking into place. “Ok. but if you don’t end up liking me, please save me the decency of not telling anyone who I am, and don’t act any weirder around me that you normally do.”  
“Ok.” he said.  
Wait, we know each other? He thought.  
She lifted her fingers up to her mask...  
Suddenly, the door burst open. A girl in a fox costume, followed by a boy in a turtle costume, grabbed Marinette by the hand. “We have to go. NOW.”  
Marinette struggled, trying to stay. “Why? What’s going on?”  
Alya grabbed Marinette’s shoulders. “The inspector’s coming to our dorm. We haven’t cleaned it yet!”  
She gasped. “No! The cloth is all over the floor! Not to mention the sewing needles and thread-”  
“No time to explain!” she whisked Marinette out of the room.  
Adrien ran out the door, watching her get dragged off. I’m sorry. She mouthed. He started to walk forward, but heard metal clinking against metal under his foot. He kneeled down, and grabbed the object. It was a necklace with a small diamond shaped into a heart, held to the necklace with a circle of metal, at the end. He turned it over. On the back, the words ‘we love you’ were inscribed into the metal.  
He looked forward, and closed his hand around the trinket. He ran in the direction on the doors, but that only led him to the stage. Someone looked up and scream. “Look! He’s back!”  
Everyone turned, and surged forward, determined to get to him.  
He saw the girl running through everyone, trying to reach the door.  
He jumped into the crowd, people clawing at his arms, trying to grab him. “‘Scuse me! Pardon me! Sorry! Watch out people coming through!”  
At one point he saw Kim. “Hey, yo! Where you going Adrien? Chloe wants to see you!”  
Chloe, who was next to Kim, started running after him. “Adrikins! I have a proposition!”  
“Crap.” he ran faster.  
“Adrien! Adrien? Adrien! Adrien! ADRIEN! DON’T YOU DARE RUN AWAY FROM ME!”  
He surged through the crowd, sometimes only seeing the sparkling red from the girls dress. When he finally got to the door, her car was already driving away, and fast.  
He waved his hands in the air, running after the car. “Wait! You forgot your necklace!”  
But the car was already on the road. He slowed to a stop, panting, feeling defeated.  
“No.” he whispered. He tried so hard to find her. He had never felt this way about someone, not even with Chloe. He mostly just did it because his father made him.  
It’s ok, he thought. I’ll just look for her tomorrow.  
“Oh, Adrikins!” Chloe yelled.  
Oh no.  
She threw her arms around him. “I have a proposition!”

. . .

Marinette sat in the back of Nino’s car, staring out the window.  
Alya looked back at her sympathetically. “Girl, i’m so sorry for interrupting you like that. But we had to go home.”  
Marinette looked up, forcing a smile on her face. “What are you talking about? I'm totally fine!”  
Alya and Nino exchanged looks. “Are you sure? Because if your not, Nino knows-”  
“Pfft. Alya, don’t sweat it, i’m fine.”  
“Ok, if you say so.” she said doubtfully.”  
When she turned back around, Marinette lost the smile, and looked back out the window, a stray tear rolling down her face. But i’m not ok. I love him.


	2. Old Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soooooo...remember when i said there were going to be no miraculous? i lied, i couln't stop myself from adding them in this chapter. i hope you like it!

The next day, Marinette walked to school with Alya, hoping that Adrien had forgotten about the night before.  
“Girl, you should just tell him!” Alya said, elbowing her in the side.  
“No Alya. I don’t want him to like me for my voice. I want him to like me for me. Which probably won't happen on Lila’s watch.”  
Right on cue, Lila bumped into Marinette, pushing her over and spilling her english essay everywhere.  
Lila put a hand over her mouth. “Whoops, didn’t see you there Marinette.” then she leaned in closer. “And Adrien will never see you either. You think that little stunt you pulled last night will make you popular? Well your wrong. And as long as i’m alive, I will make your life miserable. Got it?”  
Marinette growled and pushed her away. “Cut it out Lila. you’ve made that clear a million times.”  
She chuckled. “Whatever. There's a football game tonight, and your going to be on the top of the pyramid.”  
Alya stuck her finger in Lila’s face. “You listen here. If you even try to hurt Marinette, I will kick your tiny little-”  
“Alya,” Marinette held her arm back. “It’s not worth it.”  
She and Marinette had a silent argument, Marinette obviously won.Alya gave Lila one last look, then took a step back. “Ya, she’s nothing but a loser.”  
Lila laughed and walked away.  
Alya straightened her glasses. “Mari, why do you let her do this to you?”  
Marinette knelt down and started collecting her papers. “It's better to stay in the dark then try to rise up.” she reached for a paper, but a hand grabbed it. She looked up, and it was Adrien Agreste.  
“Need a hand?” he asked. Since it was friday football night, all of the team members had to wear their jerseys. And DANG Adrien looked good in uniform.  
She tried to hide her blush. Come on Marinette. Be cool be cool be cool be cool. You can do this. She took a deep breathe, then accepted the paper. “Thanks Adrien.”  
“No problem.” he replied. He had no idea who this girl was, but he felt compelled to her. He felt encouraged to be near her, like metal to a magnet. But again, he didn’t know why.  
When all the papers were collected, he stood up, followed by the girl. “Hmm. you look familiar…”  
Alya rushed forward putting an arm around Marinette. “That’s because she’s-”  
Marinette saw what she was about to say, but quickly cut her off.“On the cheerleading team! Ya, i’m on the cheerleading team, so you probably see me alot. AT THE GAMES, I mean.”  
He thought some more, but then just shrugged his shoulders. “Oh. then, see you tonight!”  
He walked off leaving Marinette blushing and Alya gaping. “GIRL! That was your chance! You could have told him, and then rubbed it in Lila’s face!”  
Marinette huffed. “You don’t get it, Alya. if he finds out, then he might ask me out! And i can’t take that chance. Especially when Lila could make my life more miserable. Or worse, Chloe will make me a laughing stock!”  
Alya shook her head. “Mari, you need to get your priorities straight.”

. . .

Adrien got to his apartment right after school. It was about the size of two garages, but that was about it. He had a bed, a few windows, a small kitchen, atable, a chair, and his belongings. He laid down on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He had so much on his mind. He desperately wanted to know who the girl in the mask was yesterday. For some reason, she reminded him of someone. Possibly someone from his childhood. He brought out the necklace, admiring the words on the back. It was cool that she had a necklace like that. He never got anything from his father. Not even a card asking how he was. He rolled onto the ground, and grabbed something from under his bed. It was a black hexagonal box with red designs on it.  
He sighed. “I wish I didn't have to keep it, so i could have sometime off of long days of work, but i don’t really have a choice.”  
He opened the box, and inside it held a black ring with a paw print on it. Suddenly, a ball of green light appeared in front of him. When the light dissipated, a black chat stared angrily at him.  
“Took you long enough.” said Plagg, the chat. “I haven’t seen you in, what, eight years? And now you decide to bring me back out?”  
“Nice seeing you too.” Adrien grumbled. “It’s been a while, but i think i remember the right words. Plagg, Claws Out!”

. . .

School was terrible. Whenever she saw him, she would blush deeply, and then trip over something, making her the center of attention. And what made it worse was that Adrien always helped her up! Ugh! Why does he have to be so perfect!  
The football game started at 7, so Marinette had time to go back to her dorm. Alya had a study group after school, so she had the place to herself. She had insisted on getting the top floor, because it hada balcony, and it reminded her of home.  
She plopped her back pack on the floor, and starred in the mirror. “Why do you have to make life so complicated Marinette?”  
She grumbled, then went onto the balcony. She had set up a small table, and two comfy chairs out. She plopped on one of them, and watched the trees sway in the breeze. She stuck her earbuds in, and started listening to the song ‘Eastside’, by Benny Blanco, Khalid, and Halsey. She mouthed the words, thrumming her hands on her lap to the beat.  
‘My love is yours if your willing to take it. Give me your heart ‘cause I ain’t gonna break it. So come away, starting today we’ll start a new life together in a different place, you know that love is how these ideas came to be, so baby run away with me.’  
When Halsey started singing, so did Marinette. She didn’t know why, but she just did. Maybe it was the night before. Maybe since she knew she could sing well, she had more confidence.  
“17, and we got a dream to have a family a house an everything in between, and then oh, suddenly, we turn 23, and we got pressure for taking our life more seriously. We got our dead end jobs ‘n got bills to pay, half our friends are now our enemies, and now i’m, i’m thinkin back, to when i was young back to the day when I was falling in love, he used to meet me on the eastside, in the city where the sun don’t set.”  
She didn’t know how loud she was singing, and honestly didn’t care. She sang her heart out, moving her arms to the beat. She even got up, and leaned over the balcony, letting the world around her hear her voice. Apparently, so did someone close buy.  
“When I was young, I fell in love we used to hold hands man that was enough.”  
She whirled around, to find a blonde boy in a chat suit sitting on top of the roof, his legs dangling over the wall. She was o stunned, she couldn’t make a sound. One minute she was alone, the next minute he was there. He looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Perhaps someone from her childhood. Impossible, she thought. Everyone from my childhood besides Alya, Chloe, Lila, Nino, and Adrien are in France!  
The boy continued singing, starting from the beginning. Marinette pulled out her ear buds, setting them down on the chair.  
“Then we grew up, started to touch. Used to kiss underneath the light on the back of the bus.” he jumped off of the roof, resting his arms on the railing next to her. He looked into her eyes as he sang, slowly lacing his fingers in hers. “I know your daddy didn’t like me much, and he didn’t believe me when I said you were the one. Oh everyday, she find a way out of the window to sneak out late. She used to meet me on the eastside,” she looked down at their hands, his clawed ones holding hers. Like a slap to the face, she remembered him. It was Chat Noir! From France! She was so happy she couldn’t put it into words. The only thing she could do was sing along with him.  
“We can do anything if we put our minds to it.” he smiled, having gained her trust.   
Before he had stumbled upon her, he was strolling across the rooftops, careful not to disturb anyone, when he had heard her voice. It seemed so familiar, so he followed to sound, until he came upon her. It was Marinette! How had he not remembered her earlier! They used to go to school together in Paris!  
“Take your whole life then you put a line through it. My love is yours if your willing to take it. Give me your heart cause i ain’t gonna break it. So come away starting today we’ll start a new life together in a different place, you know that love is how these ideas came to be, so baby run away with me.”  
They both stopped looking into each other's eyes.  
Chat Noir grinned, wiggling his eyebrows. “Bonjour, Princess. Remember me?” he kissed her hand, making her blush.  
She jumped on him, pulling him into a big hug. “Chat! I haven’t seen you in years.” she pulled away. “What are you doing in America? Doesn’t Paris need you?”  
He winced, remembering bad memories. “Nah, Ladybug stopped showing up on patrols, and so did the akuma’s, so I decided to go to college.”  
“Oh, that’s nice, i’m going to Princeton, just a few blocks from here.” she chuckled. “My Parents wanted me to stay, but supported me anyways. They gave me a necklace so i would remember it, I never take it o-” she put her hand on her chest, then a look of panis crossed her face.  
“What is it Princess?”  
“No no no no! The necklace! It’s gone!”  
“When did you lose it?” he asked suddenly very interested. I found a necklace yesterday. He thought.  
“I-I don’t know! It could have been anywhere from yesterday to now.”  
He patted her on the back. “I’m sure you’ll find it eventually, Princess.”  
“He looked at the clock inside her room. “Holy crap, is that the time? I have to get going!”  
“Where’s an alley cat like you got to be right now?” she asked playfully.  
He threw back his head, bursting out in laughter. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me Princess.”  
She shrugged. “I have to get going too, I have a football game to be at.”  
Wouldn’t you much rather be with me?” he asked, giving her kitten eyes.  
She poked his nose, like she did when she was 14. “Silly chaton. I’m a cheerleader.” all the excitement drained from her face, replaced by anger and annoyance. “I’d much rather be with you then have to put up with Lila and Chloe.”  
“Lila and Chloe are here!” he shrieked, hiding behind her.  
She laughed. “Yes, but they don’t live with me. They’re on the cheerleading team, like me. Sadly, I have to be at the top of the pyramid, which means Lila’s gonna do something to humiliate me.  
Chat stood up straight, flexing his muscles. “She won’t be able to lay a finger on you with me around.”  
She rolled her eyes, smiling at the good old times. “Bye, Chat. I have to get ready.”  
He gave her a two fingered salute, then disappeared in the trees.  
She ran into her room, and screamed into her pillow. Chat Noir was here! Finally she could look forward to something. Assuming her would visit her everyday. Hopefully he would.  
She pulled out her cheerleading outfit, staring at it in disgust. “Why can’t it be longer!”  
When she wore it, all the boys she walked past whistled and hollered, flexing their muscles at her, attempting to woo her to their “strength”. PLEASE. She was stronger than any of them would ever be.  
Oh, how she wished she still had her miraculous. Then she could meet up with Chat Noir at night like they used to. But alas, she gave it back to Master Fu incase there were still akuma’s left when she left. She was just about to walked out the door, when her doorbell rang.  
She opened it up to see the mailman holding a large package. “Delivery.” he sadid, giving her a clipboard to sign. He handed her the package, then left.  
“I wonder what this could be.”she wondered aloud. She opened it up, and in the middle of a mess of bubble wrap, was a red and black box and a note. The note read, “there are no akuma’s. Thought you might want this. ~Master Fu”  
She opened the box, to see a familiar friend holding up a pair of Ladybug earrings.  
“Surprise!” Tikki squeaked.  
Marinette gasped. “Tikki! I haven’t seen you in forever!” she embraced her in a tiny hug.  
“Here, put these on!” Tikki offered her the earrings.  
“But I can’t I have a-”  
“Football game to go to, I know. Master Fu has been keeping tabs on you since you left. Now come on! Your going to be late!”  
“First of all, creepy. Second of all, i was just about to walk out the door, so let's go!"


	3. The Game

Marinette got to the football game 30 minutes before it started, so she had time to stretch and practice her halftime show.  
She waved to Alya, who was stretching while talking to Nino. Marinette set down her bag, and went into a split. Last month, she had finally mastered her middle split, despite all of the other things she had mastered. She was getting ready to do a back handspring, when Lila walked over.  
Marinette rolled her eyes. “What do you want Lila?”  
“Just wanted to remind you that you were going to be at the top of the pyramid, silly!” she said, acting all bubbly, but her smile said everything.  
Marinette made a face as Lila walked away.

. . .

Chat Noir landed at the back of the school, 30 minutes before the game started. He detransformed, deep in thought.   
‘If he girl that I danced with lost her necklace last night, but Marinette also lost her necklace anywhere from last night to now, then that means...she’s the girl I danced with!’  
He ran inside, a smile on his face.  
“Yo, Adrien, what took you?”  
He turned around to see Kim walking towards him.  
“Sorry man. I was catching up with old friends.”  
They walked into the boys locker room, getting ready for the football game. All the team members looked at him curiously. They had never seen him this happy.  
They all ran out to cheering crowds and confetti. They sat down on the benches, some of the players being put out in the field. But Adrien didn’t notice. He was too busy staring at Marinette. She looked so adorable with her hair in a ponytail, in a short Cheerleaders outfit, doing her stretches. Before he knew it, he was in the game. He was the quarterback, and played like he never played before. Everyone he tackled was for Marinette. Every touchdown he made was for Marinette. Before he knew it, it was half time, and he was back on the sidelines, panting hard, and sweating like crazy. The marching band was about to play, so he went in to take a quick shower. He was back outside in the next five minutes, a towel around his neck, his hair wet, when the cheerleaders started climbing onto each other, making the tallest pyramid of about 25 girls he had ever seen.

. . .

Marinette was on the field during halftime, doing back handsprings, walking on her hands for a good 10 seconds, making cartwheels all the way across the field, everything. Halftime was almost over, but not yet. Not before the big finale. She gulped as the was lifted over everyone else, high into the air, all the way to the top of the pyramid. Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead. Gosh she was up so high. But she kept it together. She slowly lifted her leg up in the air, raising her other hand up in the air, waving to the crowd as they cheered.  
She was just about to relax, when she felt her foot wiggle. The only foot keeping her from falling down. She shakily looked down to see Lila below her, snickering as she wiggled Marinette’s foot back and forth. Marinette’s eyes widened as she felt herself moving backwards. Then she was falling. She screamed as the ground came at her like a hurricane. She closed her eyes, ready to make contact with the field, when she hit something soft and muscular, keeping her from hitting the ground.  
She wrapped her arms around what felt like a neck, holding on for dear life. She opened her eyes to see a very muscular boy holding her in his arms. And guess who it was.  
“You ok, Marinette?”  
She blushed as she stared into the eyes of Adrien Agreste. She slowly shook her head, looking at her foot. It was all swollen, and was sure to have a bruise in the morning. He set her on the ground, wrapping her arm around his neck, and wrapping his arm around her waist.  
“Here, i’ll help you get to the nurse.” he said, helping her forward.  
She blushed, managing a small sentence. “Thanks.”  
He smiled at her warmly. “No problem.” he looked at Lila with a disgusted look. “I saw her wiggling your foot back and forth. I’ve never been fond of her behavior, but it looks like she really has it for you.”  
Marinette nodded. They finally entered the schools hallways. He helped her hobble down to the school nurse, who said she had sprained her ankle, and if it weren’t for Adrien, she would have broken her whole leg. The nurse wrapped up her ankle, and gave her a pair of crutches to borrow.  
“Would you like me to take you home?” he asked.  
She blushed. “But-but what about the game?”  
He chuckled. “They still have good players. The worst that’ll happen to me is i won't be able to play in the next game.”  
She thought for a moment, then nodded her head.  
They walked to his car, which was a beat up truck.  
He patted the door. “I know it isn’t much, but it still works. I don’t like being all big and fancy.”  
He helped her into the truck, then got in himself. “Alright, where do you live?”  
“143 Mulberry Drive. It’s not too far from here.”  
It took 5 minutes to get back to her dorm room, and when they got there, Adrien carried her up the steps and set her on the couch.  
“Do you need anything?” he asked, kneeling next to her.  
She rolled her eyes, smiling. “It’s just a sprained ankle. It’s not like i’m about to die or anything.”  
He clenched his teeth, standing up, clenching his fist. “When I get my hands on Lila-”  
“Adrien,” Marinette gently grabbed his arm. “I’m fine. Alya’s probably screaming at her right now.”  
He looked at her doubtfully, but nodded his head. He took out a pen and a piece of paper, scribble something on it, then handed it to her. “Here’s my number if you need anything.”  
She tried to hide her blush, slowly nodding her head.  
He waved and walked outside.  
Plagg floated out of his jacket. “Where are you going?”  
“I think it’s time someone paid her a visit.” he opened up his truck door, took one last look at Marinette’s dorm room, then drove away.  
“What about the game!” Plagg screeched.  
“So what about the game. Couch will understand.” he said. He parked his car a few blocks away, in an empty parking lot, then ran behind a building.  
“Plagg, Claws Out.” he whispered.

. . .

Marinette layed back on her couch, holding a pillow up to her face. “Oohhhh, Adrien.” she said dreamily.  
Tikki laughed. “Come on Marinette, you need to get something to eat. You haven’t eaten since lunch.”  
Marinette tried to stand on her foot, and immediately buckled. “Woah!” she was saved by a chair a few feet in front of her. “Scratch that, I think i’ll just get something tomorrow morning.”   
She hopped into her room, clawing at the wall for support, and climbed into bed. Sh was in bed for less than 5 minutes when her stomach started to growl.   
She groaned. “Fine, i’ll go make a smoothie.”  
She hopped into the kitchen and started getting out ingredients. “Yogurt, strawberries, bananas, ice, honey...where's the peanut butter?”  
She looked in the pantry, but it wasn't there. She grumbled, slowly turning her head to the top of the fridge. Alya always put it somewhere high, claiming that she used peanut butter way too often.  
She limped over to the fridge, raising her hand far above her head. She wasn’t even close enough to reach the peanut butter. She reached farther, feeling the front of the jar. “Almost got it. Almost…” she took one last reach, when all of a sudden she could see the peanut butter above the fridge. “What the-”  
“Hey Princess.” Chat Noir beamed  
Marinette yelped, almost dropping the peanut butter. Chat Noir had somehow gotten into her house without making a sound, snuck up behind her, and lifted her off the ground so she could reach the peanut butter. She looked at him in jealousy. Why were boys always taller than girls? It wasn't fair.  
She pouted as he set her down. “Show off.”  
He laughed. “I’m just trying to help my Princess get her…” he looked at the jar she was holding. “...peanut butter? Why did you put the peanut butter up there if you can’t even reach it?”  
“I didn’t, my roommate, Alya, did.” she responded, inching her way over to the blender.  
Chat Noir scooped up Marinette, placing her on his back. “Which way?”  
She giggled. “Right to the blender, the one that’s only 5 feet away.”  
He walked over to the table, grabbed a chair, and placed it next to the counter. He set her done, grabbed the peanut butter, and started examining the recipe. “What am i supposed to do?”  
Marinette rolled her eyes. “Add one cup of yogurt to the blender. I’ll be right back, i’m going to grab my crutches.”  
She hopped away, and when she came back with her crutches, she gasped. “Chat! Your supposed to use the measuring cups! Not an actual cup!”  
Chat looked at the cup he was holding, and the large amount of yogurt he had put in the blender. “What measuring cup?”  
Marinette walked over, still not used to the crutches. “This measuring cup. Have you ever used one before?”  
Chat blushed. “My father never let me make anything, so never really have.”  
“Here, i’ll show you.” Marinette said.  
For the next 30 minutes, Marinette helped chat understand that a measuring cup and a cup were different, and that a teaspoon wasn't actually used for tea. Once he understood that, he helped her make the smoothie, which they doubled so Chat could have some.  
“Wow!” Chat exclaimed. “This is really good!”  
Marinette giggled. “Ya, my parents used to make it for me in High School.”  
“Can I have the recipe?” he asked.  
“Sure, i’ll be right back.” Marinette said, walking to the other room.  
When she came back, she was holding a small box about the size of a backpack. Inside were measuring cups, teaspoons, tablespoons, and lots of other measuring utensils.  
“What’s this?” Chat asked.  
Marinette placed it on the counter. “This is the very first set of baking supplies my parents gave me. It helped me understand which measurements were which. There’s even some utensils to use when the recipe says to measure out a dollop, dash, pinch, or smidgen. And now.” she moved it towards Chat. “it’s yours. Plus a bunch of good smoothie recipes, a croissant recipe, and macaroon recipes.”   
Chat stared at the box. “I,I can’t except this. This was your very first set! It has meaning!”  
“Yes,” she said. “But I don’t use it anymore, so now i’ll know it’s being used.”  
He hugged her. “Thank you Princess.”  
Marinette hugged him back. “Your welcome.”  
He looked at the time. “Oh gosh, I gotta go.” he grabbed the box, and before he jumped off the balcony, he asked, “By the way, what happened to your ankle?”  
She gestured to her dress. “Cheer leading. Lila pushed me off of the top of the pyramid.” she chuckled. “I was just lucky enough that a boy caught me, otherwise I would have broken my whole leg.”  
Chat walked back in, placing the box on the counter, and sat down in a chair, looking like a little kid before story time. “Who was this boy?”  
She blushed, looking down at the ground. “Why do you want to know?”  
He put on a sly grin. “Because, I need to know who the competition is.”  
Marinette laughed. “Ok, ok. Fine. His name is Adrien Agreste. He’s really nice.”  
Chat thought for a minute then got an idea. “Adrien Agreste? Me and him are buddies. Is he here?”  
“Here, as in here here? No, he just left a few minutes before you snuck up on me. He brought me home after I sprained my ankle.  
“Well, I better get going. My roommates are going to be back any minute now, and will be wondering where I was.” he said  
“Chat Noir?” Marinette asked.  
Chat stopped at the door, box in hand. “Yes Princess?”  
“What will you tell them if they get home before you?”  
He smiled. “I’ll tell them I was with the most beautiful girl in the world.”  
He ran out before he could have the pleasure of seeing Marinette’s blood red face.


End file.
